Do Single People Feel Like They Have to Act Younger?

My friend, who is in her 30s, just wrote to me that she is feeling down. She says that her options each weekend are: 1) stay at home by herself or 2) go out with other singles and act 23. Granted, she lives in a big city where there's a major drinking culture and she doesn't like to drink. Doh!

I like to drink, so that's not a problem, but I don't do nightclubs. I think it only feels like you're "acting 23" because your married peers have aged light years beyond you. They live in the land of prenatal vitamins, wills and testaments, sober nights, and early bedtimes.

There can come a day when, like my friend is doing, you realize you don't fit into either category. You have all this extra time to spend with friends who can't spend it with you. You're not visiting in-laws because you don't have any. You're not touring day cares because you don't need to. So what do you do…go on a bender and try to meet people?

I live in both worlds. Last night I did shots of sake and went to a bar that had games in it. But today I lunched with two sorority sisters—one just bought a house with her husband and the other brought her 2-year-old. Life is so weird!

If you're single, do you feel like you have to act younger than you are? If you're married, do you feel like you're doing "old" things? Do you like where you are? Is the grass always greener?